Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship | 2019 World Series of Poker

06-28-2019 09:30 UTC-8

Seat 5: John Esposito (3,630,000 in chips)

Chad Holloway

The man Norman Chad refers to as a "Las Vegas Legend," Esposito, a Chicago-born, Las Vegas-based businessman and President of JEM China Direct, sits in fourth place at the final table. Esposito won his lone WSOP gold bracelet back in 1999 when he took down a $2,500 Limit Hold'em event for $219,225. Esposito's $1,313,338 in lifetime WSOP earnings make up a little more than a third of his $3,224,015 in lifetime tournament earnings as reported by Hendon Mob.

Esposito already has one deep run in the 2019 WSOP, finishing in third in Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better for $98,907. Esposito also has three top-twenty runs in the WSOP Main Event and finished 32nd in the 2011 WSOP Main Event for $242,636.

Esposito's first recorded cash was all the way back in 1985, thirty-four years ago, and his cashes come in a variety of doctrines, including Limit Hold'em, PLO, Omaha Hi-Lo, No-Limit Hold'em, Stud and Stud Hi-Lo, all of which are featured in the Poker Players Championship.

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06-28-2019 09:27 UTC-8

Seat 4: Phil Hui (4,135,000 in chips)

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Jan_Kores

Phil Hui has been collecting WSOP cashes since 2013. He's an experienced mixed game player with nine top 10 finishes in bracelet events under his belt. However, his 10th surpasses the previous by order of magnitude as he's a debutant when it comes to cashing in the PPC.

Hui won his only bracelet in 2014 when he topped the $3,000 Omaha Hi-Lo event for $286,976. That has remained Hui's biggest cash to date, but he'd set a new high with a top-four finish today.

Four-time WSOP Circuit champ Hui has been in an excellent form this summer, having cashed in nine events. Hui has been chasing not only his second bracelet (his closest attempt came in the $2,500 Mixed Big Bet where he settled for the bronze) but also a POY leaderboard. He currently sits just outside of the top 20, and will be flirting with the top five with his addition from the PPC.

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06-28-2019 09:25 UTC-8

Seat 3: Dan Cates (1,260,000 in chips)

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BrandonTemple

The only final tablist without a WSOP gold bracelet to his name, the man known as "Jungleman" still has an impressive resume to fall back on.

Dan Cates, who cut his teeth playing in some of the highest nosebleed cash games on Full Tilt, famously accepted the "durrrr Challenge" from Tom "durrrr" Dwan, and was a regular in the $200/$400 NLH and $300/$600 PLO tables, routinely winning and losing six-figure pots before Black Friday came and ended the Full Tilt nosebleed games.

Cates only has one non-hold'em or Short Deck cash on his resume, but an 8-Game win at an EPT Prague event in 2015 shows that his chops don't solely reside in hold'em and Omaha. He also has shown a cavalier fearlessness in regards to money and has cashed in multiple tournaments at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, including a win in an HK $300,000 ($38,408 in USD) Hold'em/Short Deck mix tournament in May.

Cates comes to the final table as the short stack, with just 1,260,000 in chips to work with, meaning he'll need to rally the short stack again, as he did on Day 4, in order to earn his first WSOP bracelet.

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06-28-2019 09:23 UTC-8

Seat 2: Bryce Yockey (4,465,000 in chips)

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Jan_Kores

The Poker Players Championship is an incredibly difficult event to play for anyone, but Bryce Yockey has managed to overcome his doubts. He kept his feet on the ground before joining the field, tweeting that, "There is a legit chance I'm not a winning player," while selling action. His appearance turned into a great investment for those who trusted his abilities.

Yockey may be a first-timer regarding a PPC final table, but he's backed by a solid mixed game résumé. His previous ten top 10 finishes at WSOP are highlighted by his win in the $10k Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Championship in 2017. That triumph was worth Yockey's first (and so far only) bracelet as well as $511,147, the biggest prize of his career.

PLO8 might not be in the mix in the PPC, but Yockey has proved his abilities in a variety of games, including no-limit hold'em, stud, and stud hi-lo. He claims 2-7 triple draw to be among his favorite games, so there is no doubt that Yockey is well equipped for the eight-game mix.

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06-28-2019 09:22 UTC-8

Seat 1: Shaun Deeb (2,485,000 in chips)

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BrandonTemple

One of the most polarizing figures in poker, Shaun Deeb comes to the final table with 2,485,000 in chips, sitting in fifth place to start the day.

Deeb, the 2018 WSOP Player of the Year who currently sits in sixth place in this years' WSOP Player of the Year race, has four WSOP gold bracelets to his name. They include a $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em Championship bracelet in 2015, and $1,500 Seven-Card Stud bracelet in 2016. In 2018, he managed to earn two more bracelets, in the $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha 8-Handed High Roller, as well as the $10,000 Big Blind Antes No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed Championship Event.

All told, Deeb boasts Hendon Mob lifetime reported earnings of $6,481,526, as well as $4,581,712 in lifetime WSOP earnings. A win in this year's Poker Players Championship will be the icing on a white-hot five year run at the WSOP, as well as another score towards winning consecutive WSOP Player of the Year titles. It would also bring him into a tie with three-time Poker Players Championship bracelet winner Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi for the most bracelets earned by a player this decade.

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06-28-2019 09:18 UTC-8

Arieh Leads $50,000 Poker Players Championship Final Table

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Chad Holloway

The 2019 Poker Players Championship began with 74 runners, but just six players will return to action for the fifth and final day of play.

Cards will be in the air at Noon local time and the remaining players will battle it out for a $1,099,311 top prize, a gold bracelet, and the coveted Chip Reese Memorial Trophy.

Josh Arieh leads the way with 6,220,000. He led the tournament after Day 1, stayed in top five after Day 2, and trailed only Phil Ivey after Day 3.

Final Table Lineup

Seat	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Shaun Deeb	United States	2,485,000
2	Bryce Yockey	United States	4,465,000
3	Dan Cates	United States	1,260,000
4	Phillip Hui	United States	4,135,000
5	John Esposito	United States	3,630,000
6	Josh Arieh	United States	6,220,000

The elimination of David Oppenheim last night brought Day 4 to its conclusion and the final six players will continue today in a set of razz hands. There are 57 minutes left to play in level 22 with the 100,000/200,000 limits.

None of the final six players have previously made it this far in this particular tournament, though Deeb has notched two PPC cashes in his career finishing in seventh place in 2017 being the better of the pair. Meanwhile, Arieh has made money once, finishing 13th back in 2011. For the other four players, it will be their debut PPC cash.

The action will stream on PokerGO, but you'll also be able to follow updates throughout as PokerNews will be on hand to capture all the action right here in the live updates.

Event #58: $50,000 Poker Players Championship

Day 5 Started